Spain rescues hundreds of refugees from sea as new left-wing government embraces softer immigration stance

Spain rescues hundreds of refugees from sea as new left-wing government embraces softer immigration stance

Spanish authorities have rescued 569 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from north Africa â" including two men in a canoe.

Dinghies and wooden rafts were among vessels found carrying people on Friday night and Saturday morning, the countryâs Maritime Rescue Service said.

Some 264 of the migrants were pulled from the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the worldâs busiest and most dangerous shipping lanes.

Fine weather is thought to have sparked a surge in the numbers braving the treacherous crossing.

The rescue vessel MV Lifeline of the NGO Mission Lifeline (Reuters)

Spain released the figures as its new centre-left government â" led by socialist Pedro SÃ¡nchez â" continued to embrace a promised softer stance on immigration. Just last week, the country took in 630 rescued people from the aid ship Aquarius after Italy had refused to let the vessel dock there.

By contrast, Italy itself continued to reiterate on Saturday that its ports were closed to such rescue boats.

Another vessel â" belonging to the German aid group Mission Lifeline and with 234 migrants onboard â" remains at sea after both Italy and Malta turned it away.

Italyâs new far-right interior minister Matteo Salvini said, from now on, such migrants would only see Italy âon a postcardâ.

He added: âWe cannot take in one more person. On the contrary, we want to send away a few. Italian ports are no longer at the disposal of traffickers. Open the Maltese ports. Open the French ports.â

He said his country is suffering under a constant stream of people coming illegally from Africa. He has threatened to withhold payments to the European Union if the block does not come up with a way of dispersing such migrants more evenly across the continent.

World news in pictures

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1/50 23 June 2018

People gather as the injured are helped by medics at the scene of an explosion during a rally to support the country's new reformist prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Reports say the blast occurred shortly after he addressed thousands of his supporters. He then spoke to the crowd afterwards, saying a people had been killed. EPA

2/50 22 June 2018

Participants of the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim are seen in the River Derwent at dawn, in Hobart, Australia, Reuters

3/50 21 June 2018

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in a mass yoga session along with other practitioners to mark International Yoga Day at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun. Tens of thousands of yoga practitioners worldwide on June 21 are expected to celebrate the fourth annual International Yoga Day, first proposed by the Indian PM in 2014 to the UN General Assembly and adopted unanimously. AFP/Getty

4/50 20 June 2018

A woman and child are told they will have to wait before crossing the US border as confusion sets in following the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" poli cy on immigration Getty

5/50 19 June 2018

People wave a banner with a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a gathering of supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul, Turkey,. Turkish President Erdogan announced on 18 April that Turkey will hold snap presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 June 2018, after elections were scheduled to be held in November 2019. EPA

6/50 18 June 2018

Residents pass by a temple gate collapsed by an earthquake in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan. The earthquake, which struck western Japan, killed three people and inj ured more than 50. EPA

7/50 17 June 2018

Juan Carlos Osorio, manager of Mexico's national football team, celebrates their World Cup victory against Germany Getty

8/50 16 June 2018

Kashmiri youths through stones during clashes between protestors and Indian government forces in Srinagar AFP/Getty Images

9/50 16 June 2018

People are silhouetted on the flybridge of a yacht as fireworks illuminates the sky over the Yas Viceroy luxury hotel on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr at the Marina on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi EPA

10/50 15 June 2018

Somali Muslims take part in Eid al-Fitr prayer which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan at the football pitch of the Jamacadaha stadium in Mogadishu. AFP/Getty Images

11/50 14 June 2018

Artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup in Russia ahead of the group A match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Getty

12/50 13 June 2018

Pope Francis arrives to lead the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican Reuters

13/50 12 June 2018

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic meeting at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore. Reuters

14/50 11 June 2018

US President Donald Trump looking at a cake being brought for him during a working lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his visit to The Istana, the official residence of the prime minister, in Singapore. Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump will meet on June 12 for an unprecedented summit, with the US President calling it a "one time shot" at peace. AFP/Getty

15/50 10 June 2018

Muharrem Ince, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), delivers a speech from the roof of a bus during a campaign meeting in Istanbul. AFP/Getty

16/50 9 June 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaking to US Presidend Donald Trump during the second day of the G7 meeti ng in Charlevoix, Canada. Looking on is US National Security Advisor John Bolton. EPA

17/50 8 June 2018

Former South African President Jacob Zuma sings and dances on stage after delivering a speech during a rally in his support outside the High Court, in Durban. AFP/Getty

18/50 7 June 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question during his annual call-in show in Moscow. Putin hosts call-in shows every year, which typically provide a platform for ordinary Russians to appeal to the president on issues ranging from foreign policy to housing and utilities. AP

19/50 6 June 2018

Protesters wave flags and shout slogans during a demonstration against the use of the term "Macedonia" in any solution to a dispute between Athens and Skopje over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in the northern town of Pella, Greece. Reuters

20/50 5 June 2018

Police officers salute as the caskets of policewomen Soraya Belkacemi, 44, and Lucile Garcia, 54, arrive during their funeral in Liege. The two officers, and one bystander were killed in Liege on Tuesday by a gunman. Police later killed the attacker, and other officers were wounded in the shooting. AP

21/50 4 June 2018

A rescue worker carries a child covered with ash after a volcano erupted violently in El Rodeo, Guatemala. Volcan de Fuego, whose name means "Volcano of Fire", spewed an 8km (5-mile) stream of red hot lava and belched a thick plume of black smoke and ash that rained onto the capital and other regions. Dozens were killed across three villages. Reuters

22/50 3 June 2018

A recycler drags a huge bag of paper sorted for recycling past a heap of non-recyclable material at Richmond sanitary landfill site in the industrial city of Bulawayo. Plastic waste remains a challenging waste management issue due to its non-biodegrable nature, if no t managed properly plastic ends up as litter polluting water ways, wetlands and storm drains causing flash flooding around Zimbabwe's cities and towns. Urban and rural areas are fighting the continuous battle against a scourge of plastic litter. On June 5, 2018 the United Nations mark the World Environment Day which plastic pollution is the main theme this year. AFP/Getty

23/50 2 June 2018

Palestinian mourners carry the body of 21-year-old medical volunteer Razan al-Najjar during her funeral after she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border fence on June 1, in another day of protests and violence. She was shot near Khan Yunis in the south of the territory, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, bringing the toll of Gazans killed by Israeli fire since the end of March to 123. AFP/Getty

24/50 1 June 2018

Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez poses after a vote on a no-confidence motion at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. Spain's parliament ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party's corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over. AFP/Getty

25/50 31 May 2018

Zinedine Zidane looks on after a press conference to announce his resignation as manager from Real Madrid. He confirmed he was leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the thi rd year in a row. AFP/Getty

26/50 30 May 2018

A worker cleans up the Millenaire migrants makeshift camp along the Canal de Saint-Denis near Porte de la Villette, northern Paris, following its evacuation on May 30. More than a thousand migrants and refugees were evacuated early in the morning from the camp that had been set up for several weeks along the Canal. AFP/Getty

27/50 29 May 2018

Police and ambulances are seen at the site where a gunman shot dead three people, two of them policemen, before being killed by elite officers, in the eastern Belgian city of Liege. AFP/Getty

28/50 28 May 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. Gassama living illegally in France is being honored by Macron for scaling an apartment building over the weekend to save a 4-year-old child dangling from a fifth-floor balcony. AP

29/50 27 May 2018

Migrants wait to disembark from the ship Aquarius in the Sicilian harbour of Catania, Italy Reuters

30/50 26 May 2018

Ireland awaits the official result of a referendum that could end the countryâs ban on abortion. Co-Director of Together For Yes Ailbhe Smyth speaks to the media after exit polls suggested victory for the Yes campaign. PA Wire/PA Images

31/50 25 May 2018

Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at the 1st Precinct in Manhattan where he turned himself in to New York police for sexual misconduct charges. Reuters

32/50 24 May 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg, on May 24, 2018 Getty Images

33/50 23 May 2018

People protest outisde the Tamil Nadu House after at least 10 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of plant on environmental grounds in town of Thoothukudi in southern state of Tamil Nadu, in New Delhi. ANI via Reuters

34/50 22 May 2018

People demonstrate in Paris during a nationwide day protest by French public sector employees and public servants against the overhauls proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, calling them an "attack" by the centrist leader against civil services as well as their economic security. AFP/Getty

35/50 21 May 2018

Newly appointed Catalan president Quim Torra arrives to visit jailed Catalan separatist politicians at the Estremera jail near Madrid. AFP/Getty

36/50 20 May 2018

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote during the presidential elections in Caracas. Maduro was seeking a second term in power. AFP/Getty

37/50 19 May 2018

Channelized lava emerges on Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone on Hawaii. The USGS said on its website that "a fast-moving pahoehoe lava flow that emerged from fissure 20... continues to flow southeast," with the quickest of three "lobes" progressing at 230 yards (210 meters) per hour. AFP/US Geological Survey

38/50 18 May 2018

Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school in Texas. Shrader said her friend was shot in the incident. Multiple people have been killed. Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP

39/50 17 May 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister There sa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting during the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria. Reuters

40/50 16 May 2018

People hold flags with the state coat of arms of Russia as they drive along a bridge, which was constructed to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula across the Kerch Strait. Reuters

41/50 15 May 2018

Palestinians run away from tear gas shot at them by Israeli forces during a protest in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank AFP/Getty < figcaption>

42/50 14 May 2018

A Palestinian demonstrator runs during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba at the Israel-Gaza border. REUTERS

43/50 13 May 2018

A bullet hole on the window of a cafe in Paris, the day after a knifeman killed one man and wounded four other people before being shot dead by police AFP/Getty

44/50 12 May 2018

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel looks on after receiving the 'Lamp of Peace, the "Nobel" Catholic award for "her work of conciliation for t he peaceful cohabitation of peoples" at The Basilica Superiore of St Francis of Assisi in Italy. AFP/Getty

45/50 11 May 2018

Police forensics investigate the death of seven people in a suspected murder-suicide in Australia. Four children are among seven people that were found dead at a rural property in Osmington, near Margaret River. Detectives are investigating the incident, which was said to be treated as a murder-suicide, media reported. Two firearms were found at the scene, Western Australia Police said. EPA

46/50 10 May 2018

Missiles rise into the sky as Israeli missiles hit air defense position and other military bases, in Damascus, Syria. The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked "dozens" of Iranian targets in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights, in the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date. Reuters

47/50 9 May 2018

Iranian MPs burning a US flag in the parliament in Tehran. Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to a nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". President Hassan Rouhani also said Iran could resume uranium enrichment "without limit" in response to Trump's announcement. AFP/I slamic Consultative Assembly News Agency

48/50 8 May 2018

Newly elected Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinian addresses the crowd in Republic Square in Yerevan. The leader of protests that gripped Armenia for weeks was named the country's new prime minister on Tuesday, overcoming the immediate political turmoil but raising uncertainty about the longer term. AP

49/50 7 May 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks before his President inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow. Reuters

50/50 6 May 2018

Lava from a robust fissure eruption on Kilauea's east rift zone consumes a home, then threatens another, near Pahoa, Hawaii. The total number of homes lost within the Leilani Estates subdivision thus far is 21, and geologists from the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory do not expect the eruption to cease any time soon. A local state of emergency has been declared after Mount Kilauea erupted near residential areas, forcing mandatory evacuation of about 1,700 citizens from their nearby homes. The crater's floor collapsed on 01 May and is since then continuing to erode its walls and generating huge explosions of ashes. Several earthquakes have been recorded in the area where the volcanic eruptions continue, including a 6.9 magnitue earthquake which struck the area on 4 May. EPA/PARADISE HELICOPTERS

1/50 23 June 2018

People gather as the injured are helped by medics at the scene of an explosion during a rally to support the country's new reformist prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Reports say the blast occurred shortly after he addressed thousands of his supporters. He then spoke to the crowd afterwards, saying a people had been killed. EPA

2/50 22 June 2018

Participants of the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim are seen in the River Derwent at dawn, in Hobart, Australia, Reuters

3/50 21 June 2018

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in a mass yoga session along with other practitioners to mark International Yoga Day at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun. Tens of thousands of yoga practitioners worldwide on June 21 are expected to celebrate the fourth annual International Yoga Day, first proposed by the Indian PM in 2014 to the UN General Assembly and adopted unanimously. AFP/Getty

4/50 20 June 2018

A woman and child are told they will have to wait before crossing the US border as confusion sets in following the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on immigration Getty

5/50 19 June 2018

People wave a banner with a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a gathering of supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul, Turkey,. Turkish President Erdogan announced on 18 April that Turkey will hold snap presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 June 2018, after elections were scheduled to be held in November 2019. EPA

6/50 18 June 2018

Residents pass by a temple gate collapsed by an earthquake in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan. The earthquake, which struck western Japan, killed three people and injured more than 50. EPA

7/50 17 June 2018

Juan Carlos Osorio, manager of Mexico's national football team, celebrates their World Cup victory against Germany Getty

8/50 16 June 2018

Kashmiri youths through stones during clashes between protestors and Indian government forces in Srinagar AFP/Getty Images

9/50 16 June 2018

People are silhouetted on the flybridge of a yacht as fireworks illuminates the sky over the Yas Viceroy luxury hotel on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr at the Marina on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi EPA

10/50 15 June 2018

Somali Muslims take part in Eid al-Fitr prayer which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan at the football pitch of the Jamacadaha stadium in Mogadishu. AFP/Getty Images

11/50 14 June 2018

Artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup in Russia ahead of the group A match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Getty

12/50 13 June 2018

Pope Francis arrives to lead the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican Reuters

13/50 12 June 2018

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic meeting at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore. Reuters

14/50 11 June 2018

US President Donald Trump looking at a cake being brought for him during a working lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his visit to The Istana, the official residence of the prime minister, in Singapore. Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump will meet on June 12 for an unprecedented summit, with the US President calling it a "one time shot" at peace. AFP/Getty

15/50 10 June 2018

Muharrem Ince, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), delivers a speech from the roof of a bus during a campaign meeting in Istanbul. AFP/Getty

16/50 9 June 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaking to US Presidend Donald Trump during the second day of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Canada. Looking on is US National Security Advisor John Bolton. EPA < h2>17/50 8 June 2018 Former South African President Jacob Zuma sings and dances on stage after delivering a speech during a rally in his support outside the High Court, in Durban. AFP/Getty

18/50 7 June 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question during his annual call-in show in Moscow. Putin hosts call-in shows every year, which typically provide a platform for ordinary Russians to appeal to the president on issues ranging from foreign policy to housing and utilities. AP

19/50 6 June 2018

Protesters wave flags and shout slogans during a demonstr ation against the use of the term "Macedonia" in any solution to a dispute between Athens and Skopje over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in the northern town of Pella, Greece. Reuters

20/50 5 June 2018

Police officers salute as the caskets of policewomen Soraya Belkacemi, 44, and Lucile Garcia, 54, arrive during their funeral in Liege. The two officers, and one bystander were killed in Liege on Tuesday by a gunman. Police later killed the attacker, and other officers were wounded in the shooting. AP

21/50 4 June 2018

A rescue worker carries a child covered with ash after a volcano erupt ed violently in El Rodeo, Guatemala. Volcan de Fuego, whose name means "Volcano of Fire", spewed an 8km (5-mile) stream of red hot lava and belched a thick plume of black smoke and ash that rained onto the capital and other regions. Dozens were killed across three villages. Reuters

22/50 3 June 2018

A recycler drags a huge bag of paper sorted for recycling past a heap of non-recyclable material at Richmond sanitary landfill site in the industrial city of Bulawayo. Plastic waste remains a challenging waste management issue due to its non-biodegrable nature, if not managed properly plastic ends up as litter polluting water ways, wetlands and storm drains causing flash flooding around Zimbabwe's cities and towns. Urban and rural areas are fighting the continuous battle against a scou rge of plastic litter. On June 5, 2018 the United Nations mark the World Environment Day which plastic pollution is the main theme this year. AFP/Getty

23/50 2 June 2018

Palestinian mourners carry the body of 21-year-old medical volunteer Razan al-Najjar during her funeral after she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border fence on June 1, in another day of protests and violence. She was shot near Khan Yunis in the south of the territory, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, bringing the toll of Gazans killed by Israeli fire since the end of March to 123. AFP/Getty

24/50 1 June 2018

Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez poses after a vote on a no-confidence motion at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. Spain's parliament ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party's corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over. AFP/Getty

25/50 31 May 2018

Zinedine Zidane looks on after a press conference to announce his resignation as manager from Real Madrid. He confirmed he was leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the third year in a row. AFP/Getty

26/50 30 May 2018

A worker cleans up the Millenaire migrants makeshift camp along the Canal de Saint-Denis near Porte de la Villette, northern Paris, following its evacuation on May 30. More than a thousand migrants and refugees were evacuated early in the morning from the camp that had been set up for several weeks along the Canal. AFP/Getty

27/50 29 May 2018

Police and ambulances are seen at the site where a gunman shot dead three people, two of them policemen, before being killed by elite officers, in the eastern Belgian city of Liege. AFP/Getty

28/50 28 May 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Mamoud ou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. Gassama living illegally in France is being honored by Macron for scaling an apartment building over the weekend to save a 4-year-old child dangling from a fifth-floor balcony. AP

29/50 27 May 2018

Migrants wait to disembark from the ship Aquarius in the Sicilian harbour of Catania, Italy Reuters

30/50 26 May 2018

Ireland awaits the official result of a referendum that could end the countryâs ban on abortion. Co-Director of Together For Yes Ailbhe Smyth speaks to the media after exit polls suggested victory for the Yes campaign. PA Wire/PA Images

31/50 25 May 2018

Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at the 1st Precinct in Manhattan where he turned himself in to New York police for sexual misconduct charges. Reuters

32/50 24 May 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg, on May 24, 2018 Getty Images

33/50 23 May 2018

People protest outisd e the Tamil Nadu House after at least 10 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of plant on environmental grounds in town of Thoothukudi in southern state of Tamil Nadu, in New Delhi. ANI via Reuters

34/50 22 May 2018

People demonstrate in Paris during a nationwide day protest by French public sector employees and public servants against the overhauls proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, calling them an "attack" by the centrist leader against civil services as well as their economic security. AFP/Getty

35/50 21 May 2018

36/50 20 May 2018

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote during the presidential elections in Caracas. Maduro was seeking a second term in power. AFP/Getty

37/50 19 May 2018

Channelized lava emerges on Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone on Hawaii. The USGS said on its website that "a fast-moving pahoehoe lava flow that emerged from fissure 20... continues to flow southeast," with the quickest of three "lobes" progressing at 230 yards (210 meters) per hour. AFP/US Geological Survey

38/50 18 May 2018

Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school in Texas. Shrader said her friend was shot in the incident. Multiple people have been killed. Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP

39/50 17 May 2018

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting during the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria. Reuters

40/50 16 May 2018

People hold flags with the state coat of arms of Russia as they drive along a bridge, which was constructed to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula across the Kerch Strait. Reuters

41/50 15 May 2018

Palestinians run away from tear gas shot at them by Israeli forces during a protest in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank AFP/Getty

42/50 14 May 2018

A Palestinian demonstrator runs during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba at the Israe l-Gaza border. REUTERS

43/50 13 May 2018

A bullet hole on the window of a cafe in Paris, the day after a knifeman killed one man and wounded four other people before being shot dead by police AFP/Getty

44/50 12 May 2018

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel looks on after receiving the 'Lamp of Peace, the "Nobel" Catholic award for "her work of conciliation for the peaceful cohabitation of peoples" at The Basilica Superiore of St Francis of Assisi in Italy. AFP/Getty

45/50 11 May 2018

Police forensics investigate the death of seven people in a suspected murder-suicide in Australia. Four children are among seven people that were found dead at a rural property in Osmington, near Margaret River. Detectives are investigating the incident, which was said to be treated as a murder-suicide, media reported. Two firearms were found at the scene, Western Australia Police said. EPA

46/50 10 May 2018

Missiles rise into the sky as Israeli missiles hit air defense position and other military bases, in Damascus, Syria. The Israeli military on Thursday said it attacked "dozens" of Iranian targets in neighboring Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the Gola n Heights, in the most serious military confrontation between the two bitter enemies to date. Reuters

47/50 9 May 2018

Iranian MPs burning a US flag in the parliament in Tehran. Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to a nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". President Hassan Rouhani also said Iran could resume uranium enrichment "without limit" in response to Trump's announcement. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency

48/50 8 May 2018

Newly elected Prime Minister of Armenia N ikol Pashinian addresses the crowd in Republic Square in Yerevan. The leader of protests that gripped Armenia for weeks was named the country's new prime minister on Tuesday, overcoming the immediate political turmoil but raising uncertainty about the longer term. AP

49/50 7 May 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin walks before his President inauguration ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow. Reuters

50/50 6 May 2018

Lava from a robust fissure eruption on Kilauea's east rift zone consumes a home, then threatens another, near Pahoa, Hawaii. The total number of homes lost within the Leilani Estates sub division thus far is 21, and geologists from the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory do not expect the eruption to cease any time soon. A local state of emergency has been declared after Mount Kilauea erupted near residential areas, forcing mandatory evacuation of about 1,700 citizens from their nearby homes. The crater's floor collapsed on 01 May and is since then continuing to erode its walls and generating huge explosions of ashes. Several earthquakes have been recorded in the area where the volcanic eruptions continue, including a 6.9 magnitue earthquake which struck the area on 4 May. EPA/PARADISE HELICOPTERS

The leaders of 16 of the 28 EU nations will meet for informal talks about the perceived crisis on Sunday ahead of a full summit next week where the subject will top the agenda.

Most of those rescued in the Mediterranean are from sub-Saharan Africa.

Traffickers help them get to Libya where they board unseaworthy boats in an attempt to reach European soil. Not all make it.

On Saturday Libya said its coastguards pulled the bodies of five migrants from the sea and picked up 185 survivors of a sinking boat off its western coast.